Ταλαιπωρία (Hardship)
by SonOfTheVoid
Summary: Percy is just a normal boy, up until tragedy strikes how will Percy cope and what new threat faces Olympus?


Ταλαιπωρία (Hardship)

 _Disclaimer: I am **NOT** Rick Riordan nor do I have any ownersh_ip over the titles. Also chapters may take a while to be released as Year 10 is a bitch and I have a lot of school work to do.

Prologue - The Intruder

 _ **3rd Person POV**_

Percy Jackson, no older than 13 was sleeping, peacefully in his bed. The night was cool and crisp, with no sound but a few crickets chirping outside. Gabe Ugliano was not at home but was on a vacation with some of his buddies, gambling away his family's money at casinos in Las Vegas so Percy and his beloved mother were able to enjoy themselves properly for the first time in years.

Percy suddenly woke up, heart racing and with bated breath. He was unsure of why he woke up with this extreme tension in his mind and body but then he noticed something... the crickets that had been chirping this whole time had stopped and heavy footsteps that were like hammers striking stone had taken their place, growing louder and closer.

Percy was now truly afraid, his blood chilling and his body shivering. Still the footsteps rose in volume until they stopped almost making him wonder if they ever started.

 **BANG**

The door of the apartment was blown off of its hinges and launched into the kitchenette, splintering in the process and leaving sharp wooden daggers around the main living areas with some, puncturing the walls like syringes.

Quickly both Percy and his mother were in the living room confronted by both the utter devastation of their apartment and the looming figure encased in a shadowy mist, which seemed to suck in light and absorb it like a menacing form of photosynthesis, which was standing where the oaken door should have stood.

Before he or his mother could say or do anything about the obvious intruder his hands were upon here, quickly cutting off all oxygen flowing through Sally Jackson's body, her face going pink, then red, then blue until finally... her body went limp. Throughout all of this Percy's mouth was open in a silent scream, with his upper lip quivering in fear and salty tears carving a river like water upon rock down his face falling and tumbling like rainfall until they inaudibly plinked onto the grey carpet which now, more or less looked like the coat of a dalmation.

The figure dropped his mother's still body and turned facing Percy. Finally reaching his senses he raced to his bedroom and upon entering locked his door and then proceeded to open the window which creaked and squeaked and groaned. Once there was ample room for him to fit through he clambered onto the black, iron landing that housed a ladder to the roof and one to ground level. Scurrying down ladders, barely ahead of a mysterious murderer is not something that many could say but Percy Jackson was "living the dream".

He was so close to the ground but unfortunately his pursuer had caught up and shoved him his body tumbling over the safety rail and falling two stories where Percy landed unceremoniously, on his back, winded and trembling with fear, fighting for conciousness. He thought that this was where it ended another life cut short by the cruel and cold world we live in. The shadowed humanoid with thundering footsteps and powerful limbs reached him. The shadows that churned around the perimeter of its body made ominous sounds as the danced past each other melding and then breaking away, just to merge together once again. A venomous looking blade that pulsed between purple and matte grey that resembled pure unadulterated evil took up residence within the grasp of the creatures right hand. The pommel of the sword held a skull with two glinting amethysts clasped inside the eye sockets. Then without a single sound or _SWOOSH_ of air the sword made its deadly arc towards Percy's neck.

For Percy everything happened in slow motion. He closed is eyes and awaited whatever afterlife, if any, was about to be upon him. Then he noticed something. He wasn't cold or afraid anymore. Percy made the assumption that this was because he was dead but when he opened his eyes, he did not expect to see Manhattan... with a huge figure in front of him... whose sword was stuck within a golden aura which seemed to make Percy's skin tingle.

Then the aura and Percy disappeared leaving just the glowering monstrosity that for the first time let out a sound. One of anger and frustration a roar that echoed, bouncing along the grimy walls of apartment complexes and as such seemed to be repeated thousands of times.

It was a guttural roar that summoned up pure evil.

 **I apologise about the shortness of this chapter but I didn't really want to cluster everything and rush the end product. This way my work will be easier to edit and more manageable to type in my limited schedule. In any case I hope you enjoyed and hope all you beautiful bastards have a good day!**

 **~SonOfTheVoid**


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